Sewing machine for feeding, sewing and cutting sections of tape



April l4, 1964 J. SIMON 3,128,730

SEWING MACHINE EOR FEEDING, SEWING AND CUTTING SECTIONS OF TAPE Filed Nov. 23, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet l F l G. 1

if r

INVENTOR.

JAC K S l M ON HIS ATTORNEY.

April 14, 1964 J slMON 3,128,730

SEWING MACHINE FOR FEEDING, SEWING AND CUTTING SECTIONS OF TAPE Filed Nov. 23, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

JACK SIMON HIS ATTORNEY.

April 14, 1964 SEWING J. SIMON 3,128,730 MACHINE FOR FEEDING, SEWING AND CUTTING SECTIONS OF TAPE Filed Nov. 23, 1962 A BFIG. 3

5 Sheets-Sheet 3 6 98 53 6 38 i 5 59 57t==;' I 36 1 M v::::::'- l l- A 6+ 44 INVENTOR.

JACK SIMON HIS ATTORNEY.

A ril 14, 1964 J. SIMON 3,128,730

SEWING MACHINE FOR FEEDING, SEWING AND CUTTING SECTIONS OF TAPE Filed Nov. 23, 1962 5 SheetsSheet 4 FIG. 6

INVENTOR. JACK SIMON HIS ATTORNEY.

J. SIMON April 14, 1964 SEWING MACHINE FOR FEEDING, SEWI NG AND CUTTING SECTIONS OF TAPE 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Nov. 23, 1962 INVENTOR.

JACK SIMON H [S ATTORNEY.

United States Patent Ofitice 3,128,730 Patented Apr. 14, 1964 3,128,730 EWING MACHH'JE FGR FEEDING, SEWENG AND CUTTING SECTIONS 6F TAPE Jack Simon, Rye, N.Y., assignor to L. M. Rabinowitz 8: Co., Inc, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Nov. 23, 1962, Ser. No. 239,608 6 Qlairns. (Cl. 112-2) This invention relates to sewing machines and relates more particularly to an improvement in a machine for forming hook and eye tapes for attachment to garments.

In hook and eye arrangements for detachably securing the horizontal straps in brassieres and other garments short lengths of tape with one, two or more hooks or eyes secured thereto are stitched to the ends of the straps. This short length is cut from a long length of tape comprising a plurality of layers with the hooks secured thereto at fixed intervals.

For the purpose of finishing the opposed ends of these short tape length by an overcast stitch, a button hole machine is normally used. The tape containing the hooks is fed to the machine and instead of forming a button hole, the adjoining ends later to be severed are stitched across the entire width in the same manner as in forming a button hole, the cutting knife, however, cutting the tape across its entire width between the closely spaced banks of stitching and the short length of tape then is manually discharged and the operation is repeated.

An important object of the present invention is to provide an attachment for such a machine which converts it into a fully automatic and continuous operation, pro viding short lengths of the hook tape or eye tape which are held together by slender threads which can be readily cut or broken. This permits the pieces with the overcast stitches at each end to remain interconnected until the connecting threads are severed and the importance of the invention lies in the fact that the operation is fully automatic and continuous.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved means for automatically feeding the tape in prescribed increments of travel. If the tape is completely severed by the conventional machine just described, there can be no automatic feed since the anvil which descends against the knife pushes the new leading edge of the tape downwardly below the knife so that further movement of the tape would foul the feed. In accordance with the present invention, the tape is not completely severed. The knife has spaced gaps leaving the tape connected by slender threads so that as the leading end is next pulled and the trailing section in effect pushed the almost-severed section travels smoothly over the knife.

This feeding means comprising pulling of the forward tape section and pushing of the rear tape section is of the greatest importance and comprises conjointly movable spaced fingers which engage openings in the hooks or eyes to provide a positive feed.

The conventional button hole machine is designed solely for manual feed piece-by-piece. When the knife cuts the holes in the case of a button hole forming operation, or if the tape is severed across its entire width, the top thread is cut but is held in a tying stitch. The bottom thread is not cut but a short length must be pulled out in order to set up for the next sewing operation. Thus, another object of the invention is to provide an automatic feed which moves the work to the left in increments which automatically does what must be done with the bottom thread and also disconnects the top thread from the tying stitch.

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of a button hole sewing machine having the present invention attached thereto;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view taken along line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 44 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a plan view taken along line 55 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the slitting blade;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the overedged product;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the table and feeding arms;

FIG. 10 is a view along line 19-10 of FIG. 9;

FIG. ll shows the circuit employed.

The machine illustrated is of the railway type in which the work is held stationary and the sewing head has straight line travel across the work to form two closely spaced lines of stitching.

The machine includes a base frame 10 and a sewing head 12 positioned above the base and a bed plate 14 serves as a table. A needle bar 16 supporting a needle 18 is journalled for reciprocating movement in the sewing head 12. A thread 20 from a spool (not shown) passes upwardly through a throat plate 22. This throat plate 22 is located centrally of the bed plate 14 adjacent a fixed slitting knife 24. The throat plate and the knife are positioned between spaced clamp feet 26 which are pivotally supported on curved clamp foot holders 27.

A clamp lever 28 is provided for manually operating the clamp feet and a manually operated starting lever 30 is located adjacent clamp lever 28 and actuation of starting lever 30 commences a sewing cycle.

The machine described thus far is largely a conventional button hole machine and its operation is well understood. As the work is held on the bed plate by the clamping feet the head travels rearwardly while the needle forms zig-zag stitch line defining the right hand edge of a conventional button hole. At the end of this stitch line which forms the right bank of stitches, the needle bar rotates through a small circular path and the head then returns forwardly, causing the needle to form the left bank of stitches. An anvil or pad 31 now descends against the knife and the latter cuts a slit precisely in the center of the area between the banks of stitches.

The improvement constituting the present invention includes, in addition to the foregoing assembly, two platens 32 and 34 secured to the table 14 with a space therebetween for the clamp feet 26. A longitudinal guide rail 36 (FIG. 4) having a cut-out section on the lower face of its forward edge and forming a shoulder 38 and an overhang 40 is secured to platen 32 and a similar guide rail 42 is secured to platen 34 in alignment with guide rail 36. The shoulder 33 forms a guide for the rear longitudinal edge of the tape shown at 44 as the same passes over platens 32 and 34. An extension plate 46 is substantially co-planar with platen 32 to form a continuation of the table for supporting material fed into the machine. This plate is supported at one end by a vertical bracket 48. A guide rail 50 is provided on the extension plate which is also in alignment with the shoulders 33 of guide rails 36 and 42.

Means for feeding the tape 44 comprise a pair of spaced-apart fingers 52 and 54. The tape is shown in FIG. 4 has two rows of eyes 55 and 56 which are stitched between overlying fabric layers 57 and 58. It will be appreciated that this laminated or built-up tape varies considerably depending in part on whether there are one, two or three rows of fastening elements. Sometimes it is made from a single width of fabric but more often it is composed of a plurality of layers in order to provide the desired plies between which the eyes or hooks are inserted before they are stitched in place. A plan view of one form of prepared tape for which the improved machine of the present invention is especially designed to operate upon is shown in FIG. 8. In the fabrication of this tape on a machine of a different type, strips of elastic 59 have been stitched in fixed relation between upper layer '7 and the body of the tape 44.

Finger 54 is positioned substantially vertically while finger 52 is disposed diagonally relating to the table top. Because of these different angles of approach, each finger has a different shape of contacting portion as shown. The fingers are shown as engaging the eyes 55 in the second row at points spaced substantially equally from the needle, to carry the tape through the machine in predetermined increments from right to left. The finger 52 is carried by an arm which is fixed on a sleeve 53 freely mounted on a shaft 62. Adjustment of the finger longitudinally of the arm is effected by loosening a set screw 64.

The other finger 54 is secured to a U-shaped bracket 66 adjustably secured by means of a set screw 68 to an arm 70 fixed in a sleeve 71 which is also freely carried on shaft 62. The sleeves are retained in place by collars 73. The shaft 62 is mounted at the upper free end of a crank 72 which is pivotally mounted at 74 on a fixed bracket 7 6. An air motor provided with a cylinder 78 is also pivotally mounted at 80 on a bracket 82 and has a piston rod 84 which is connected to an ear 86 fixed on crank '72. It will be apparent that the piston (not shown) in cylinder 78 imparts oscillating motion to crank 72. An air connection is shown at 88 to deliver air to the motor and movement of the piston in one direction or the other is controlled by an electrically operated pilot valve 89 of conventional construction and which is associated with the cylinder. This type of valve is too well known to require illustration but it has an air operated slide valve which connects parts with one end of the cylinder or the other so that the piston can be driven in each direc tion. The air operating the slide valve is electrically controlled.

The finger 52 is urged against the tape carrying the hooks or eyes as it lies on platen 34 by means of a spring 90 attached to arm 60. The second finger 54 is also urged in the same direction by a second spring 92. A bracket 94 extending from crank 72 supports the free ends of springs 90 and 92. Screws 96 permit the tension of the springs to be adjusted. In order to insure proper guidance of the hook or eye tape through the machine, guide blocks 98 and 100 are resiliently supported above the tape by fiat springs 102 and 104 which are secured on guide rails 36 and 42, respectively. A separate leaf spring 105 (FIG. 6) on top of spring 102 may be employed for varying the downward pressure of springs 102-104. It will be noted in FIG. 4 that the guide blocks are of a width equal to the distance between the rows of eyes 55 and 56, the rows of eyes forming shoulders which engage the guide blocks on opposite sides thereof. This arrangement prevents transverse movement of the eye tape during the sewing operation. So efficient is it that the shoulders 38 have little guiding function. If the tape has only one row of eyes then the shoulders are required. It will also be noted that the guide blocks are located out side the area occupied by clamp feet 26.

A fixed slitting knife is part of the original machine and the knife 24 has been modified to provide two notches or gaps 106 which are spaced inwardly from the ends of the cutting edge 108 as best shown in FIG. 7 in order that two minute sections of material will remain uncut after the slitting operation. The material is pushed against the knife by an anvil or a pad 110 which descends against the slitting knife to cut the material The pad is also part of the original machine.

The resulting slotted material is shown in FIG. 8 after it has passed through the machine. Slots 112 have been formed in the material and sections 114 left uncut by virtue of the notches 106 in the knife 24, thus providing a series of substantially separate pieces 116 held together by the sections 114 for ease of processing. The sections are sufficiently small to be easily severed at a subsequent point in the fabrication of the garments being manufactured. At the end of each individual piece 116 there are a pair of closely spaced lines of overcast stitching indicated by lines 118 which hold the piece together and prevent unravelling after being cut.

A second air cylinder 120 is mounted on a plate 122 adjacent the starting lever 39 in such manner that the plunger 124 of an air cylinder 120 moves forward to push against a plate 126 which has ben welded to the starting lever 30 to operate the lever. A rod 127 has a forward right angular section 128 which is secured through a bracket 129 at one end to the clamp operating lever 28 by a screw 131. This rod is journalled at its free end for sliding movement in a bracket 130 projecting from the plate 122. There are two spaced fixed collars 132 and 134 carried on the rod 127 for the purpose of operating normally open microswitches 136 and 137 having switch arms 138 and 139 each provided with rollers 133. They are so positioned that when the collar 132 has closed the switch 136, the collar 134 has released the switch 138 and is out of contact with it (see position A, FIG. 3). It will also be noted that when the rod 128 is caused to move by virtue of the lever 28 which is operated by a cam inside the original machine, it carries the collars 132 and 134 into position B, collar 132 releasing the switch 136, and collar 134 operating the switch 135. The need for two switches 137 and 138 may be questioned since one switch would perform the function. The use of two switches gives the necessary time lag between cycles. The clamp feet must be completely up before the feeding can start and this requires the time lag afforded by the two switches The circuit of FIG. 11 will be clear from the following description of operation. The solenoids use 6 volts, A.C. A switch 144 is manually controlled to start and stop the operation. A coil 146 which controls operation of the air which operates the slide valve of pilot valve 89 is centrally grounded. A sewing cycle will now be described. The operative parts of the machine are in the position shown in FIG. 2. Manual start-stop switch 144 is now closed and switch 142 is in closed position as shown in FIG. 2 since its movable contact 144 is engaging frame 10. Closing of switch 144 actuates a solenoid valve 146 to move piston rod 124 forwardly, striking plate 126 on starting lever 30. The internal mechanism in the machine causes clamp lever 28 to move forwardly, lowering the clamping feet against the work and starting the sewing cycle. Simultaneously, rod 127 moves forwardly, closing switch 137 which causes the piston in cylinder 78 to move to the right its full distance of travel. During this travel to the right of piston rod 84, the fingers 54 and 52 move to the right to the start of a new feeding position. Also during this movement the machine is performing its sewing and at the completion of the sewing and cutting cycle, the internal mechanism of the machine moves lever 28 rearwardly causing rod 127 to cause collar 132 to close switch 136, switch 137 having been opened at the beginning of this rearward travel. Closing of switch 136 causes pilot valve 89 to reverse and forward movement of piston rod 84 commences. Fingers 54 and 52 are now in their position to start feeding the work to the left. At the end of this stroke, the contact 144 and switch 142 engage frame 10, closing switch 142, and the mechanism is now back to the position of FIG. 2 and ready to begin a new cycle of operation.

While there have been described herein what are at present considered preferred embodiments of the invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many modifications and changes may be made therein without departing from the essence of the invention. It is therefore to be understood that the exemplary embodiments are illustrative and not restrictive of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims,

and that all modifications that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be included therein.

What I claim is:

1. In a railway sewing machine for forming overcast stitches at the ends of short sections of hook or eye tape, a base frame, a sewing head having straight line travel across a continuous length of tape to form two rows of closely spaced stitches, clamp feet for holding the tape during stitching, an anvil and a cutting knife which are movable relative to each other for cutting the tape between said rows to form short sections of tape, said cutting knife having small gaps in the cutting edge to leave slender fibres between the sections, means for feeding the tape after each cutting comprising spaced fingers which engage the hooks, means for intermittently moving the fingers a distance equal to the length of said short sections, and means for guiding the tape during movement.

2. In a railway sewing machine for forming overcast stitches at the ends of tape having spaced complement-a1 fastening elements, a base frame, a sewing head arranged for travel across a continuous length of tape to form two closely spaced rows of stitches, means for holding the tape dun'ng stitching, means for cutting the tape between said two rows of stitches to form sections of tape, said cutting means including a knife having a discontinuous cutting edge to leave uncut tape sections, means for feeding the tape after each stitching and cutting comprising spaced fingers which engage the fastener on each side of the sewing head, means for intermittently moving the fingers, and means for guiding the tape during movement.

3. In a railway sewing machine for forming overcast stitches at the ends of short tape sections with spaced complemental fastening elements, a base frame, a sewing head including a needle bar and needle having straight line travel across a continuous length of tape to form two rows of spaced stitches, clamp feet for holding the tape during stitching, an anvil and a cutting knife which are relatively movable for cutting the tape between said rows, said cutting knife having small gaps in the cutting edge to leave uncut threads between the sections, means for feeding the tape after each cutting comprising spaced fingers which engage the fastening element, means for intermittently moving the fingers a distance equal to the length of said short sections, and means for guiding the tape during movement, one of said fingers being positioned downstream from the cutting knife to pull the partially attached leading section downstream.

4. In a railway sewing machine for forming overcast stitches at the ends of short sections of hook or eye tape wherein the hooks or eyes form abutments used in feeding the tape, a base frame, a sewing head having straight line travel across a continuous length of tape to form two rows of stitches, clamp feet for holding the tape during stitching, a movable anvil and a fixed cutting knife for cutting the tape between the rows of stitches, said cutting knife having small gaps in the cutting edge to leave attached fibres between the sections, means for feeding the tape after each cutting comprising spaced fingers which engage the abutments, means for moving the fingers, and tape guiding means including blocks which engage one side of said abutments, and a rail engaging the opposite side of the tape.

'5. In a railway sewing machine for forming finishing stitches at the ends of sections of tape having rows of hooks or eyes, a base frame, a sewing head having straight line, back and forth travel across a continuous length of tape to form a pair of closely spaced lines of stitches, clamping means for holding the tape during stitching, a cutting knife for severing the tape between two rows of stitches, said knife having small gaps in its cutting edge to leave slender fibers between the sections, spaced fingers which engage the hooks to advance the tape after each stitching, means for intermittently moving the fingers, means for guiding the tape during movement comprising fixed pressure blocks in the area between the rows of hooks.

6. In a railway sewing machine for forming finishing stitches at the ends of sections of tape having rows of hooks or eyes which form feeding abutments, a base frame, a sewing head having straight line travel across a continuous length of tape to form two closely spaced rows of stitches, clamping means for holding the tape during stitching, a cutting knife and a cooperating anvil for cutting the tape between said two rows of stitches, one of said members being movable and one being fixed, one of said membershaving small gaps therein to leave attached threads between the cut tape sections, spaced fingers which engage the abutments to advance the tape after each stitching, means for intermittently moving the fingers, means for guiding the tape during movement comprising fixed pressure blocks in the area between the rows of abutments.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,915,580 Rabinowitz June 27, 1933 2,268,367 Wood Dec. 30, 1941 2,601,617 Klook June 24, 1952 

1. IN A RAILWAY SEWING MACHINE FOR FORMING OVERCAST STITCHES AT THE ENDS OF SHORT SECTIONS OF HOOK OR EYE TAPE, A BASE FRAME, A SEWING HEAD HAVING STRAIGHT LINE TRAVEL ACROSS A CONTINUOUS LENGTH OF TAPE TO FORM TWO ROWS OF CLOSELY SPACED STICHES, CLAMP FEET FOR HOLDING THE TAPE DURING STITCHING, AN ANVIL AND A CUTTING KNIFE WHICH ARE MOVABLE RELATIVE TO EACH OTHER FOR CUTTING THE TAPE BETWEEN SAID ROWS TO FORM SHORT SECTIONS OF TAPE, SAID CUTTING KNIFE HAVING SMALL GAPS IN THE CUTTING EDGE TO LEAVE SLENDER FIBRES BETWEEN THE SECTIONS, MEANS FOR FEEDING THE TAPE AFTER EACH CUTTING COMPRISING SPACED FINGERS WHICH ENGAGE THE HOOKS, MEANS FOR INTERMITTENTLY MOVING THE FINGERS A DISTANCE EQUAL TO THE LENGTH OF SAID SHORT SECTIONS, AND MEANS FOR GUIDING THE TAPE DURING MOVEMENT. 